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FAITH RESPONSE — Prior to thousands of Haitian migrants being cleared out from Del Rio, Texas, a coalition of faith groups and other organizations was "providing them with sandwiches, water and other essentials," report Luis Andres Henao and Peter Smith of the Associated Press. (Our friends at World Central Kitchen tell me they provided approximately 100,000 meals on site.) Many of these migrants are now receiving support from faith-based groups in Houston and El Paso as they try to connect with family and sponsors throughout the U.S., but some critics say these efforts are prompting more migrants to come. "We are apolitical," said Carlos Villareal, a Houston-area leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Our concern is mainly with the families, that we can help them. It’s also the Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have done unto you. … These people are just here seeking an opportunity." ‘HOLY GROUND’ — "Welcome. We can’t imagine how hard this has been, but we’re very glad you’re safe. And we’re very glad that you’re here." These are the words Kent Annan, co-director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, told each Afghan evacuee he interviewed upon their arrival in the U.S. In an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News, Annan writes how these 16 days he spent working with Operation Allies Welcome "were among my most intense and meaningful. I tell my Wheaton College graduate students and alums, 13 of whom also deployed with me, that it’s like stepping onto holy ground when we serve people in humanitarian crises who are enduring their most vulnerable moments." Here’s today’s sampling of local stories:
HIGH-TECH TALENT — Michigan needs workers for its high-tech industries — and recruiting highly-skilled foreign workers is the best way to meet that immediate demand, Malachi
Barrett reports for MLive. "Michigan consistently ranks among the top 10 states for migrant workers with H-1B work visas, which allows companies to employ foreign workers in specialty jobs that require technical expertise," Barrett writes. But with a limited number of visas available each year, many positions are left unfilled. "There is optimism with the new administration that immigration reform would truly be something we could all work on together," said Glenn Stevens, executive director of MICHauto. "There’s no question there’s a focus on immigration reform, and the talent that we’re going to need moving forward." For more on the importance of high-skilled immigration to America’s competitiveness and national security, see the Council on National Security and Immigration’s new white paper. UNCLE C’S — Uncle C’s Chicken and Waffles in Alexandria, Virginia, has an immigration story most people don’t know about, Tim Carman writes in The Washington Post. The founders of Uncle C’s, Sayed Qayum and Sam Bahary, "are not African Americans or Southerners or even Southerners by way of New York or the City of Angels," writes Carman. They’re Afghan Americans whose families fled war in the 1980s — and they’re not the only ones: "Afghans have a long history with fried chicken in America, one more absorbing chapter in the ever-evolving saga of the dish in our country." People tell me Uncle C’s is really good (and also halal). My colleague who has the first pen on your morning note, Dynahlee, just went — and says it doesn’t disappoint. Thanks for reading, Ali |
